Shaq vs his conscience

I’m not sure whether Shaquille O’Neal’s telephone call to the San Antonio Little League team was a nice gesture, or another smart marketing moment. The man knows how to get attention.

His moves from Penny Hardaway to Kobe Bryant to Dwyane Wade to LeBron James are mostly about luck. The only one he had control over was his free-agent signing with the Lakers, and he couldn’t have known what Bryant would become.

Still, that decision to play near Hollywood set up a few movie parts, and those connections probably led to his reality television show, “Shaq vs.”

As did another connection.

According to a story in the Arizona Republic, Steve Nash originally had the idea for this show. From the article:

“Shortly after O’Neal was traded to the Suns in February 2008, Nash mentioned to his new teammate a reality show he was pursuing. It would feature the Suns point guard taking on professional athletes in their own sport.

“The topic didn’t come up again until early in the 2008-09 season, when O’Neal boarded the Suns bus and told the team he would be starring in a new reality show in which he would be taking on, you got it, professional athletes in their own sport.

“You mean the idea you stole from me?” one Suns representative said he heard Nash say.”

The article said Nash eventually sought out an entertainment lawyer. But when reached by the reporter, Nash “would not confirm the story.”

This, however, likely does confirm the story. The credits that ran Tuesday night included “Executive Producer: Steve Nash.”

“Heads up, LeBron James,” wrote another Arizona columnist. “Your new teammate doesn’t really care about you. He doesn’t really care about the good folks of Cleveland, most of whom are starving for a title and too blinded by stardust to see what’s coming. Beware. Shaquille O’Neal no longer is Superman. He’s a guy riding on someone else’s cape, stealing someone else’s idea, taking someone else’s credit. Along the way, he’s playing the country for a bunch of fools.”

That said, the only reason “Shaq vs” is remotely entertaining is Shaq.